This is a one-shot, probably. Setting is near the end of season three- After the school shooting and the proposal at Rachel's vacation cabin. :) Please r&r, thank you. Happy holidays!

Haley James-Scott was finishing up her shift at the coffee shop, and her mind was nowhere near her task, try as she might. Every few minutes, she snuck a look at the ring on her finger, still not quite believing what had happened at Rachel's cabin. Nathan, her Nathan, had proposed once again. They were going to renew their vows in a few months. Nothing could have made her happier, especially after all the pain in their marriage that resulted from her decision to go on tour, and of course Keith's death….

But she couldn't bear to think of Keith being gone. It was heartbreaking. She knew that Lucas was absolutely miserable, and even worse than that was Karen. Right now Karen and Lucas were out of town, and Haley's heart went out to them. She hoped they found peace soon, and came home. Haley and Nathan's mom, who had come back to town, had decided to try to run the coffee shop for part of every day. They wanted to help keep up the cashflow for Karen.

"Miss?"

Haley looked up from behind the counter, where she had been arranging a pile of cupcakes on a platter. "Hi, sorry, can I help you?" She smiled at the man in front of her and subconsciously pushed back her long ponytail.

"Can I have some coffee, please..?"

"Oh, sure! One moment." Haley poured him some coffee, glancing at her ring finger again and beaming. If only life could always be so wonderful. She was so lucky to have Nathan in her life. He had forgiven her long ago, and she was so grateful. Her marriage was back on track.

The man thanked her, paid, and left to sit down at a corner table. Haley went back to the cupcakes.

"Hey, beautiful." This time she recognized the voice, and her heart beat faster.

Nathan, her Nathan, was standing there wearing a tee and jeans. He looked perfect, and she wanted to kiss him, but there were customers.

"Hey, handsome." She replied with a sweet smile. "Can I get you anything?"

"A date would be nice."

She laughed. "Sounds great! I have homework, but I guess I can do that later. My shift will be done in about ten minutes if you want to wait."

He gave her a sly grin, and she wondered what he was up to. She knew him well enough to wonder. He walked outside to his car, and she went back to work, a smile lighting up her face at thought of spending time with him.

After she was done working, she clocked out and locked up. She took her long, wavy golden hair out of its' ponytail, knowing that Nathan loved it wild and wavy. She loved pleasing him. They met outside and shared a long, sweet, loving kiss. It was the kind that made anyone who saw it smile, because it was borne of a deep love, the kind that had withstood tough trials and still held firm. The kind that would not, could not break.

"Where do you want to go?" She asked breathlessly when they pulled apart, still holding hands.

"Well," He said with a sly look, "I thought we could go away for the weekend. Maybe go camping. It was nice at the cabin, but how great would it be to wake up and see the stars? Or sleep in a tent, depending on the weather. It's getting warmer every day, though."

She was surprised, and her eyes widened. "Nathan! Oh, I would love to, but I have homework."

"So we'll come back early, on Sunday." He kissed her again, and she found herself out of reasons to say no.

"Mm," She replied, "Okay. Let's do it."

"Do it? Oh, we will," He teased her. Her mouth dropped open, and she giggled. He lifted one of her hands to his face and kissed it, looking into her eyes. They smiled at each other, sharing a look of bliss, and went to his car. He had everything packed; all they needed to do was drive.

Haley rolled down her window a little ways, letting her hair blow wild in the wind. She closed her eyes as he drove. This was what life was all about. Finding the one person to hold you and love you and be there for you always. She had always believed that love was a wonderful thing, when at last it was found, but never in her whole life had she planned on falling in love with someone like Nathan. And being loved back.

She snuck a look at him. He was smiling, and she wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

They found a family-friendly campsite called Blackberry Creek and settled down at a small clearing with a good view of the sky and two trees at one end for cover. Nathan had a tent, and he thought it would be a good idea to put it up just in case it rained. Haley agreed, and they spent a few minutes figuring it out. It was green and blue.

"Hmm, we might be cramped," Haley thought out loud as they finally got it up. They were standing side by side and looking at their handiwork with pride.

Nathan put his arm around her and she leaned into him. "It'll be perfect; we can squeeze in. Don't worry about it." He kissed her forehead.

She knew exactly what he was thinking, and she laughed. "Yeah, okay.. "

They decided to go scrounge about for wood for a campfire, and then go hiking. There was a map close to their campsite, and they saw several different possibilities. One trail had a waterfall on it, though, so they went for that one. Haley couldn't remember ever seeing a waterfall in her life, and Nathan said he'd seen a small one awhile back.

It was a three-mile trail, but easy to walk on. Still, Haley was surprised at how out of shape she was. After two miles, she was trying not to breathe loudly, embarrassed. Nathan was taking full strides a few feet ahead of her, but he looked back, noticed even though she tried to hide it, and stopped to wait.

"Hayls." He said in disbelief. "Have you ever gone hiking before? Come to think of it, have you ever been on a long walk before?"

She made a face at him. "I walk. I just don't walk as fast as you do, Mr. Perfect basketball player."

He laughed at that. "Yeah, okay. I get it." He shook his head. "I'm just surprised. How do you stay in shape?"

"Um, I watch what I eat... Sometimes. I do situps, pushups, and pilates. Oh, Nathan!" She exclaimed as an idea hit her. "You should totally do pilates with me sometime."

"Pilates? Uh, no."

"Uh, yes. Just give it a chance?" She looked at him with those cute, wide eyes that he found so hard to resist.

He paused, wanting to make her happy but not wanting to lose what he considered to be his pride. "I will if you can make a free throw when we get back home. Two of them." He stuck out a hand, waiting.

She paused as well, and then stuck out her hand. The deal was made!

A mile later, they saw the waterfalls. First they heard them- a low rumbling roar- and finally they stepped out onto a wooden platform where they could see them. They were close together and looked so perfect. The experience was amazing, and they ended up cuddling for a little while in awe.

"It's such a powerful force of nature, isn't it," Haley said wonderingly as they walked back hand in hand. The image of the water falling on rocks was still in her mind.

"Yeah. And it's always pretty consistent, isn't it. Unless there's a drought, or something, it's something that you can look at and know that it will just go on forever." Nathan replied. He looked at her. "Like us, Hayls. We're in it for better or worse. We've been through the bad, though, and now...well, it can only get better."

"Always and forever," She replied with a smile. She looked down at her ring. "I love you, Nathan Scott."

"I love you, Haley Scott." He responded softly.

And hand in hand they walked back to their campsite, dreaming of their future together.

I guess if people want me to continue it, I could make another chapter. NALEY forever :)